EDTEC 670

This course deals with aspects of the design process that are sometimes neglected. To design an instructional game well, you must be both systematic and intuitive, analytic and artistic. In mastering the ISD process, you've learned to handle the cognitive side of instruction (which, almost by definition, is the most important). In EDTEC 670, you'll also learn to deal with the affective side of instruction. Throughout the course we'll be addressing the questions: What makes some activities interesting or fun? How can we maximize enjoyment without sacrificing instructional quality? It's a difficult and fascinating challenge for any instructional designer.

A second major theme of the course involves the design of simulations. The questions that will dominate the second half of the course are these: How do we represent reality in a simulation? How do we balance simplicity, efficiency, and playability against realism, richness and complexity? These, too, are challenging design tasks.

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This Cayman lurks in the swampland of Costa Rica, avoiding the BriBri's dinner plate.

The BriBri Indians of the Cordillera de Talamanca are the last remaining indigenous of Costa Rica. Now restricted to this protected area of mountainous rainforest in the very south of the country, the BriBri were once part of many indigenous groups that lived across Costa Rica before the Spanish conquest ravaged their numbers.

Desperately clinging onto their land and cultural heritage against the onslaught of westernization, these people practice non-invasive methods of agriculture within the rainforest and survive through subsistence farming. However, the pressures upon them are great and as western influence continues to invade, traditions are forgotten with each successive generation and soon an entire way of life may be lost.

Difference between Power and AuthorityPower is the ability to directly influence others or the outcome of events. Authority is "rightful" power granted to a person or entity.Power is the ability to control, while ...
Posted Sep 24, 2012, 1:03 AM by Eric Hawkinson

Board Games Revolving ElectionsI did some poking around for previous attempts at gamification of election processes to see if we can steal some ideas or get some inspiration.It's interesting that these ...
Posted Sep 24, 2012, 5:40 PM by Eric Hawkinson